I do agree ranger should be without compare. Though i was just making note of it being listed incorrect (might have been a typo). Did not know it was intended to have it with a penalty not listed on book.
I think that was taken into account on the book. page 28/29 says they gets tracking without expending any points for the skill. They also note that
-"Furthermore, this skill improves by +1 for every three levels the ranger has earned(3rd to 5th, +1; 6th to 8th level, +2, etc)"
To my understanding that bonus was to show they are better than your average non ranger.
Thanks for explanation on the reason it's -6
:D